Puppeteer director’s son helped pitch game

Puppeteer is one of the most interesting upcoming games this year, and the PS3-exclusive’s origins had an interesting consultant – a developer’s son.

Sony Japan Studio’s Gavin Moore explained that the principle idea for Puppeteer came from playing with his young son, and seeing his disenchantment with games.

“I’m playing games with my son, I’m in my house in Tokyo, we’re playing this two-player game – I’m not going to say what it was – and he just gets up and walks out,” said Moore. “He just goes outside and plays with his friends. So he comes back in, and I asked what that was all about. And he said they’re all the same. All the games we’ve been playing are all the same – you’re doing the same things.”

“So I asked what he wanted, and he said he wanted a game that changed every five to ten minutes. And I was like, yeah right, well I want an Aston Martin. But he said ‘you make games for a living–surely you can do that?'”

Moore’s son helped inspire the traditional Japanese puppet show setting, where the backdrop and scenery continues to change as you play through the game.

Moore also added that his son is now credited as a lead tester on the game and has enjoyed what he’s seen so far.

“It’s funny,” said Moore. “He thinks it’s his game. The other day he asked if it’s out yet – and then said ‘where are my royalties?'”